English

The Alliance has adopted an original method of internal organization, respecting both the democratic principles and the functioning of an international network. The Alliance rests above all on its member publishers, represented by the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP). It also relies on a Board – charged with upholding and respecting the publishers’ decisions – and a permanent staff.

Publisher members of the English-speaking network of the Alliance will meet with European, Iranian and Syrian colleagues, to discuss the following issues :
⁃ Situation analysis of the publishing landscape in the various countries ;
⁃ Strengthened mutual knowledge of participating independent publishers lists ;
⁃ Setting up of publishing projects between publishers from the different countries ;
⁃ Exchanges and discussions on digital publishing and freedom of publishing within publishing houses.

This meeting is facilitated through the support of Metis Publishers (Turkey), with the participation of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers, the Turkish Publishers Association, the Hrant Dink Foundation, and UNESCO Melbourne City of Literature.

• Gijón meeting (Spain), 2000 (an initiative led by four Spanish-speaking publishers in reaction to the emergence of Spanish multinationals in Latin America)
• Creation of the Alliance project by a group of publishers and Etienne Galliand – who would become the first director of the association
• Paris meeting (France), 2001 (some few days away from the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity)
• Foundation of the “Alliance of Independent Publishers Association, for Another Globalisation”, as per Law 1901 (head office in Paris) 2002
• Dakar meeting (Senegal), 2003 (Declaration of Solidarity amongst Independent Publishers)
• Guadalajara meeting (Mexico), 2005 (Declaration of independent publishers of the Latin world)
• International Assembly of Independent Publishers in Paris (France), 2007 (International Declaration of Independent Publishers to promote and strenghten bibliodiversity together)
• Name change of the association to International Alliance of independent publishers, 2008
• Creation of the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP), 2009
• International Assembly of independent publishers – preparatory meetings and closing meeting in Cape Town (South Africa), 2012-2014 (International Declaration of independent publishers, to promote and strengthen bibliodiversity together, and 80 recommendations and tools in support of bibliodiversity)
• Creation of the Bibliodiversity Observatory, 2016
• Mapping public book policies in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, 2020
• International Conference of Independent publishing in Pamplona-Iruñea, 2021 (Declaration ’for independent, decolonial, ecological, feminist, free, social and solidarity-based publishing’)
• Guide to good practice, 2022
• First edition of Babelica, 2022

These 80 recommendations are built on the principles upheld in the 2014 International Declaration of independent publishers, an important document promoting bibliodiversity, signed on September 20th 2014, by more than 400 independent publishers from 45 countries.

They raise the necessary prerequisites, divided by themes, for the development, maintenance and strengthening of bibliodiversity in concerned countries. Some recommendations are accompanied by tools and projects (existing or to be developed in the context of the 2015-2016 Alliance programme of activities), enabling a practical implementation of independent publishers’ proposals.

Contents of the 80 recommendations & tools in support of bibliodiversity :

* Public policies safeguarding bibliodiversity
* Proposals and actions supporting digital bibliodiversity
* The Amazon system, a threat to bibliodiversity ?
* Essential measures for publishing in local and national languages
* Methods for rethinking book donations
* Proposals and actions to develop solidarity publishing partnerships
* Activities to strengthen diversity in youth publishing

For all book actors to take ownership of these recommendations and tools, we invite you to contact us with your comments, suggestions, ideas, and proposals that could enhance and strengthen this document.

1001 activités autour du livre n’a pas pour objectif d’apprendre à lire mais celui de donner la passion du livre et de la lecture aux enfants de 2 à 11 ans et au-delà.
Comment ? En jouant, en dessinant, en inventant, en parlant, en mimant… tout cela grâce aux livres. Cet ouvrage de terrain et d’expérience, ludique et original, donne envie de dévorer tous les autres !
Un véritable outil pour les professionnels de l’éducation enfantine et pour les parents attentifs.

Initialement publié par les éditions Casterman en 2013.
Publication en Afrique subsaharienne et dans l’Océan Indien : septembre 2020.
Une adaptation spécifique pour cette coédition panafricaine a été réalisée par Philippe Brasseur ; les coéditrices et coéditeurs ont par ailleurs actualisé et adapté à leurs contextes et environnements certaines des références de l’ouvrage.

Un livre coédité par 11 maisons d’édition en Afrique subsaharienne et dans l’Océan Indien : AGO Média (Togo), Atelier des Nomades (Île Maurice), éditions Bakame (Rwanda), éditions Elondja (RDC), Ganndal (Guinée), la librairie La Farandole des livres (Niger), Gashingo (Niger), Jeunes Malgaches (Madagascar), Éditions Ntsamé (Gabon), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin) et Vallesse (Côte d’Ivoire).

Cette coédition solidaire porte le label Le livre équitable.  

Ce projet a pu se concrétiser lors d’un atelier sur la littérature jeunesse organisé par l’Alliance à Abidjan, en mai 2019, dans le cadre des Assises internationales de l’édition indépendante 2019-2021 ; il a été initié, coordonné et suivi par Corinne Fleury (Atelier des nomades). Cette cession de droits, adaptation et coédition panafricaine a reçu le soutien du Centre national du livre.

The International Alliance of independent publishers wishes you a blooming year !

Greeting card made by Mariette Robbes, member of the Board of the Alliance

Read here the 2021 programme of the Alliance and the 2020 highlights !

In 2017, publishers who are members of the Alliance along with academics and experts united to collectively produce some research on Public Book Policies in Latin America and in Sub-Saharan Africa. This has since been converted into a unique digital, graphic and interactive tool for informing and centralising data on the public support systems for books and reading in 22 countries.

In 2024, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, thanks to the support of Open Society Foundation, extends this project to the Arab world for a better understanding of public authorities’ commitment to books and reading in the different countries of the Arab world. To this end, data is collected in 10 countries based on a common questionnaire. The data will then be presented on the dedicated website for each country. A cross-sectional analysis will be carried out on the basis of these data ; the Alliance is looking for an author to draft this cross-sectional analysis.

Deadline to apply (equipe@alliance-editeurs.org) : 13 May 2024

This unique and important work ! The mapping and the analysis will be presented publicly in December 2024 or January 2025 to professionals and representatives of public authorities in the countries.

Read more here (in Arabic) / see on the right the English version for download

“It is important to understand the key role that the public procurement of books plays–similar to that of roads in a country’s development–and the related impacts of these actions on the ecosystem of books, culture, and education.

In purchasing books and socializing the processes of reading, the state’s actions may have numerous impacts. The selection of books is not only a question of quality and price, nor is it a simple technical process or an isolated action.”

This document is based on the Brevísimo manual de buenas prácticas para las compras públicas de libros (print and digital) that was included in the work of the Comisión de Compras Públicas de la Política Nacional de la Lectura y el Libro 2015-2020 (Chile), prepared by Paulo Slachevsky, coordinator of the commission. We are grateful to Germán Gacio Baquiola for his critical feedback and contributions.

Read the Manual

“Una buena política de adquisición de libros por parte del Estado tiene múltiples y significativos impactos en el desarrollo cultural, social, económico y político de un país […] Por todo ello es tan importante mejorar, incrementar, trasparentar, desconcentrar y fortalecer la presencia de autoras/es y editoriales locales en los procesos de compras públicas de libros. También analizar, revisar y diversificar constantemente las áreas en que se centran los gastos, como los libros de textos que concentran generalmente gran parte del gasto público en libros.”

Este documento reproduce, con algunas modificaciones, el Brevísimo Manual de buenas prácticas para las compras públicas de libros (en papel y en formato digital) que fue incorporado al trabajo de la Comisión de Compras Públicas - Política Nacional de la Lectura y el Libro 2015-2020 (Chile), realizado por Paulo Slachevsky (LOM Ediciones, Chile) como coordinador de la Comisión. Este manual ha sido revisado por Germán Gacio Baquiola (Editores independientes de Ecuador).

Leer el manual

Read the call for contributions for the next issue of Bibliodiversité review, to be published in October 2024.

Please contact us if you would like to submit a contribution to the Bibliodiversité review under the topic « The precariousness of independent publishing » : equipe@alliance-editeurs.org

“Co-publishing is a reminder of the extent to which solidarity is the main factor in the successful realisation of any project. It is a symbol of the strength that can be found when several publishers unite together. The book becomes much cheaper, accessible to the maximum number of readers and reaches several countries at the same time.” Lilian Thuram

For more than twenty years, independent publishing houses that are members of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers have collaborated, sharing resources and know-how and developing solidarity co-publishing.

To record and preserve this expertise, the Alliance is going back to the beginnings of solidarity co-publishing and presenting the history of a pioneering collection, “Terres solidaires”, as well as the story of the publication of one of its titles.

With this document, the Alliance also wishes to reaffirm the need for solidarity co-publishing in order to :
• disseminate texts (thereby helping expand the literary ecosystem) ;
• strengthen local book industries ;
• make books more accessible to readers (adapted price).

Thank you very much to Armand Jamme for writing this document and to Mariette Robbes for its graphic design and illustration.

Order this issue in digital format here (in French).

Sale price (digital format - PDF) : 5 euros
ISBN : 978-2-490855-51-3

Published : 23 March 2023

The Bibliodiversité review is co-published by Double ponctuation and the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.

See all previous issues of the review here (“Inclusion and Diversity in the Book Industry”, “The Alternatives. Ecology, social economy : the future of the book ?”, “Minority Languages”, “Public Book Policies”, “Self-Publishing”, “Publishing and Commitment”, “Translation and Globalization”...).

Presentation
Many independent publishers and bookshops are faced with the question of the transmission of their businesses, and sometimes struggle to find someone to take them on. This not only impacts the individuals concerned. Given the extent to which, as a generation leaves the world of work, the phenomenon is gaining momentum in Europe as well as Latin America and Africa, the future of a certain idea of the book is also at stake.

But is transmission necessary ? And if yes, to who, when and how ? Are there differences between the transmission of a publishing house or bookshop and that of other businesses ? In a sector undergoing great change, the giving up of a business in the book industry poses a broader question about the capacity for renewal of cultural organisations – of their people, practices and content – but also about the integration of legislative, societal and technological changes.

Here, a collection of texts tackles from different points of view this essential yet under-studied subject. More than a practical guide – something it appears it would be difficult to write, given the variety of situations encountered – in this issue we seek above all to share academic analyses and accounts of experiences to help us reflect on the notion of renewal and think about these transmissions.

Read an excerpt from this issue, published by ActuaLitté : the testimony of Colleen Higgs, Modjaji Books in South Africa

Contents (in French)

Solidarity co-publishing and translations contribute to the circulation of content and exchange of ideas. Solidarity co-publishing makes it possible for the activities and costs associated with publishing and printing to be shared, which means that books can be made available to wider audiences at a fair price. Solidarity co-publishing partnerships bring structure to the book market in the medium term : distributing texts in often inaccessible areas, reinforcing professional capabilities, developing catalogues, and enabling fair professional and commercial exchanges between the North and South and the development of innovative exchanges and partnerships between countries in the South. Here, independent publishers share their experiences and encourage public authorities to support and assist solidarity publishing partnerships.

Why have a Guide ?
This Guide is based on ideas, discussions, round tables and workshops prior to and during the International Conference of Independent Publishers in Pamplona-Iruñea (23-26 November 2021).

The objectives of this guide are to :
• suggest lines of approach and actions for publishers who are members of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, and to book professionals more broadly ;
• help implement and put into practice the principles and values defended by the Alliance’s members ;
• illustrate these principles using examples (experience, projects, ideas, etc. from professionals) which may serve as sources of inspiration.

How ?
The “entries” in this Guide are thematic. Given that the intention of the Guide is to present in a practical way the principles of the Pamplona-Iruñea Declaration, the main entries are currently as follows :
• decolonial publishing
• ecological publishing
• feminist and LGBTQI+ publishing
• free publishing
• social publishing
• solidarity-based publishing

This Guide will evolve ; its form is not fixed. Indeed, several of the Guide’s entries require input that will come from the work of the thematic working groups which will be tasked with making suggestions and enhancing these entries. It will then be possible to update and adapt the Guide over time in line with the evolution of practices and ideas inside the Alliance (in particular through post-conference thematic working groups).

Prerequisite
The Alliance is a unique intercultural network, whose specificity and strength lie in respect for diversity.
Kindness, curiosity, listening and respect for points of view, as well as equal opportunities for speech, must be the basis of every exchange within the Alliance. There can be no place for hate speech or non-inclusive discourse, which would be against the fundamental principles of the Alliance.
This prerequisite is the basis on which the Alliance’s members organise themselves and work together – on the creation of this Guide, among other things.

Warning
The Guide to Good Practice is intended as food for thought and discussion. It cannot commit the publishers who are members of the Alliance to all the proposals and recommendations it contains. Indeed, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers is aware of the geographical diversity of its members and, consequently, of their cultural diversity. It is also fully aware of the impossibility of implementing certain measures (e.g. on book ecology, etc.) in some countries for many reasons related to the political, social, economic, cultural environment…

Read the Guide

The ecology of the book is concerned with ideas and professional practices towards a sustainable, decolonial and geopolitical ecology of the book, involving all the actors of the world of books and taking into account their interdependence.

These ideas and practices seek to articulate several dimensions and include all the actors involved in the production of books, from creation, layout and publication to reading, including printing, distribution and sale in bookshops.

In addition to these material dimensions linked to the production of books (inputs, choice of paper, transport from the printing press), there are symbolic dimensions, which reflect on the use of books and bibliodiversity. Finally, book ecology also takes into consideration the external factors impacting on the book industry and the book market, in particular the social and environmental dynamics informing a sustainable ecological perspective.

Book ecology is therefore a concept that refers to a complex, collective and interprofessional understanding of all the practices linked to the production of books. It seeks to foster dialogue between professionals to bring about structural and thoughtful changes for greater eco-responsibility and bibliodiversity.